Deployment ban on maids to HK lifted soon

The ban on the deployment of Filipino domestic helpers to Hong Kong will be lifted soon even as the wage cut on the monthly take home pay of Hong Kong’s foreign maids takes effect today.

Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) chief Rosalinda Baldoz said the decision to lift the ban was agreed on by the government, local recruiters and migrant workers but deployment will resume only after the legal cases against the wage cut are filed in Hong Kong courts.

Baldoz disclosed that according to the Philippine Labor office in Hong Kong, the petition for the judicial review of the wage policy was already filed before the Hong Kong High Court yesterday afternoon.

"We would lift the ban on the hiring of domestic helpers to Hong Kong as soon as we have received a copy of the court petition as verified by the labor office there," Baldoz said.

She noted that the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) also filed a few weeks ago before the International Labor Organization (ILO) a petition to declare the new wage policy illegal and unjust.

Baldoz stressed, though, that after the ban is lifted, POEA would process employment contracts of domestic helpers only on condition that they are fully aware of the working condition and the salary they would be receiving.

For a standard two-year contract, the Hong Kong government is set to impose a monthly levy amounting to HK$400 (US$51) on the salaries of foreign maids and tax their employers by the same amount, reportedly to raise cash for training local workers.

In protest, the Philippines, which has more than 150,000 domestic servants in the territory, has stopped processing employment contracts of Hong Kong-bound domestic helpers since March 10.

Despite efforts of various labor-sending countries to convince Hong Kong authorities to reconsider their decision, the wage cut is set to take effect today.

Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas earlier admitted that Hong Kong authorities could no longer be prevented from implementing the wage cut at this time.

"We cannot stop the wage cut from taking effect today despite our effort," Sto. Tomas said.

But she expressed confidence that with filing of the cases before the ILO and the Hong Kong High court, the wage cut would eventually be reversed.

Representatives of 10 labor sending countries led by the Philippines are also meeting in Sri Lanka today to discuss a possible consolidated move concerning Hong Kong’s new wage policy.

Labor Undersecretary Manuel Imson, who will be representing the Philippine government in the forum, said that a collective petition for the reconsideration of the wage cut is likely to be drafted by the labor sending countries.

"We will specifically tackle the wage cut and see what we can undertake together concerning the issue," Imson said in an interview.Other than the wage cut, he said that they would also most likely discuss possible job opportunities in the Middle East after the US-Iraq war.